


Split Ways

by Bonzaiii



Series: It's Nothing Personal McCloud [1]
Category: Star Fox Series
Genre: AU, Loose Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 06:31:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18615058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bonzaiii/pseuds/Bonzaiii
Summary: Heyyyy, so this has taken forever to publish, but this is the start of the series I mentioned.It'll be in an alternate universe where everything that's canon on Starfix will still happen, but in a different order that's convenient for the story. If I mess anything up, oops.





	Split Ways

**Author's Note:**

> Just to let ya know, I will be updating, "A Terrible Turn of Events" to better fit this storyline.
> 
> Also, I will be cutting a few things out of the Starfox Canon and adding my own. (Like the whole Fox being gay and liking Wolf thing #ShipIt)

“FALCO!” A voice screamed through the comm. “GET BACK IN FORMATION!”

~~~

Falco landed his Arwing in the Great Fox’s hangar. Magnetic clasps secured his ship into place and he opened the cockpit and jumped out. He slid down the side of his ship and landed with a smug look on his face. The pilot of the Arwing next to him did the same thing. However, the other pilot was wearing a much angrier look. Falco heard short, quick steps hit the metal floor as his captain stormed over to his side. Fox stopped about ten feet away from Falco glaring at the avian’s cocky smirk. His fangs were slightly bared. Falco folded his arms in front of him and leaned casually on the side of his ship. He glanced back at his captain, a smirk still written on his face.  
Tension grew between the two pilots, or at least, with Fox. The young leader was clearly losing his cool. Falco saw his body was tense and his hands were pressed into tight fists. He maintained his nonchalant act, closed his eyes, and laughed slightly in amusement. Fox didn't notice this subtle gesture since he was far enough away.  
More footsteps could be heard in the background slowly getting louder as they got closer. Krystal and Slippy meticulously walked up behind their leader. Both were very concerned for the unfolding of an undesirable conflict. Krystal interrupted the tense moment.

“Fox. Are you al—“

“Leave us.” The vulpine snapped, not even acknowledging her presence.

“Fox I—“ She quickly stammered.

“That's an order!”

Krystal gasped in surprise at Fox’s sudden outrage. She looked at the ground for a moment. She didn't want to leave. Her psychic abilities were screaming at her that something bad was going to happen. However, out of respect for her leader, she grabbed Slippy’s arm and without another word, walked towards the hangar exit.  
Falco’s face hadn't changed much, though, he did stop snickering. Fox’s current mood in this situation was definitely unlike he'd seen before.  
Fox was usually level headed and Falco admired how he was able to keep his cool so easily in battles. At least, that's what happened on the outside…and over the comms. Falco was starting to think he had a misconception about the small canine when said canine was now marching towards him.  
Falco tried to keep his composure, but it was cracking as his clearly pissed off leader stopped directly in front of him. Fox’s venomous gaze pierced through Falco’s act and Falco found himself strangely hot around the collar. He held his stance but with a lot less smugness and he shifted uncomfortably against his ship. He tilted his head down to look at Fox. Seconds seemed to pass slower than normal. Green eyes locked with blue. More time passed and neither pilot had said a word, but the tension was still high.  
Neither Fox nor Falco knew how to make the first move. Usually, Falco would have some snappy or snarky remark which would start the ball rolling. Much to Falco’s dismay, he couldn't think of anything.  
Fox, on the other hand, was reminiscing. His team, until now, was always loyal to him and followed his orders to the point. Now, Falco had thrown a monkey wrench into their team’s dynamic. Krystal and Slippy both agreed with Falco in his decision. Fox, however, thought it was too risky and ordered against. His other two teammates, though obviously reluctant, followed Fox's demand. Falco, being Falco, didn't listen. 

~~~

“Falco! I said stand down!” Fox yelled through the comm.

“Not this time Fox!” Falco retorted. He switched off his comm. “He just doesn't understand.” Falco thought as he steadied his wings on the ship’s controls. “When the time comes, don't hesitate…” He sped his ship forward dodging and weaving through a cluster of enemy ships. He focused all his attention to his flying and passively made his way through the swarming ranks. “…Just act!” His feathered finger hovered over a button readied to fire a smart bomb when the time came. He was deathly outnumbered, almost a hundred to one, but that didn't bother him. He skillfully swung his ship around, moving it as if it were a part of his body. He knew the position of each wing, the patterns of the enemy ships, and he made precise movements to dodge and weave, shooting down the occasional unfortunate ships which got in his way.  
Enemy fire zoomed around his ship, each bolt missing to come into a direct hit. Barrel roll after barrel roll, twist after turn, Falco painstakingly drew closer to his target. His ship was grazed a couple of times, but nothing the shields couldn't handle. Plus, the bolts he dodged hit other enemy ships around him. It was like they were aiming (unintentionally) to shoot at each other. Falco was like a one animal army. A wide smirk grew on his face, he was very much enjoying himself. The thrill of battle, the adrenaline coursing through his veins, Falco was unstoppable.

He was slowed down though.

Unfortunately, one lucky plasma bolt struck his right wing from behind. Things got a bit more difficult. His shields couldn't absorb all of the blast and his lower right wing’s thruster malfunctioned from the impact. After sputtering, the thruster shut down lurching his ship to the right due to the imbalance of propulsion. Falco jerked his stick to readjust his position. It took him a few seconds to recover, but miraculously, during this time, Falco wasn't hit again.  
Maneuvering was definitely more difficult though.  
He steered his damaged ship towards his target again while compensating for the loss of a thruster. Tugging at the joystick, Falco decided he was done playing passive. He beeline straight towards his target, boosting past ships and shooting down others. His feathery finger still hovered over the release button.  
Seconds later, Falco reached his target. You should have seen the face of the captain when the bomb suddenly appeared in his vision.

~~~

Fox wanted to reprimand Falco for his behavior, but he didn't know where to start. Yes, Falco had disobeyed his direct orders, but he did complete the job with minimal collateral damage. His Arwing was technically the only thing that could be considered beaten up.

Regardless, Fox was still mad. He let his anger get the better of him. “What the hell were you thinking!” The words left his mouth a bit louder than he intended.

Falco cringed slightly, but it wasn't noticeable. He looked at his captain's face. 

Fox and him have had plenty of ordeals similar to the current situation, but they were mainly about mundane things that led into friendly or rivalrous competitions. This was the first argument which actually concerned a substantial issue.

“What do you think?” Falco replied, avoiding the original question. He kept his cool, snarky attitude and spoke with a provocative tonality. It took some effort, it he managed to pull it off as smoothly as possible.

This comment made Fox hiss. It was quite obvious as to what the matter at hand was. Falco just wanted Fox to present his argument first. This way, it's much easier for Falco to comeback. Fox, of course, readily obliged.

“You disobeyed direct orders which could have potentially jeopardized the mission at hand, and the team.” 

Falco thought for a moment. His strategy was countered by the succinct verbiage of his younger captain. Pausing to think of the proper words to say, his head tilted downwards to stare the floor. Fox believed he was letting the words sink in and falsely became pleased with himself. A ghost of a smirk touched the corners of his maw. 

“So you say.” Falco retorted. “From what I saw, I completed said mission.” He finished, putting strategic emphasis on his words.

Fox grit his teeth, his sharp fangs visibly gleamed in the light. His knuckles tightened into fists, his claws digging into the palms of his hands. Unfortunately, what Falco had said was true and he knew it. The vulpine held his breath, let go, and took a few more moments to breathe in the same fashion. “Damn, of course he brought that up” the vulpine thought. “You still didn't follow my orders” he said.

“I was acting how I thought necessary.” Falco replied with a shrug. 

Fox hissed, baring his teeth. “Of course you were!” Fox thought. Falco was always a hot head and his flying was much more reckless than Fox's, so taking risks came more natural to him. “I'm the leader of this team and I know what's best for it. You should have followed them anyways!” Fox said, his volume rising.

“Of course.” Falco rolled his eyes. “Though, if you ask the team, you might get some surprising responses.” He added with flip of his head.

As if Fox wasn't already angry, Falco wasn't helping. Falco’s naturally argumentative composure was returning and cockiness and proudness accented his speech. The blue bird was now visibly smirking as well.

“Clearly you aren't a very good leader then” Falco continued and decided to distract himself by looking at his wingtips (fingertips).

Fox hissed but this time, he forced himself to calm down and took a moment to think. Now that he looked back, he did notice Slippy and Krystal being more reluctant to follow his orders for a retreat. He clenched his fists harder. It didn't matter, he was the leader, and they were correct in their obedience. He scoffed, “What the rest of the team thinks about the subject doesn't matter. What does matter, is that they followed my orders.” Fox sharply amplified the last three words but gritting his teeth so he wouldn't yell.

“Screw your orders!” Falco exclaimed with a flap of his wings. “If I had followed them, those bandits would still be out there”

Snap…

Fox hissed and lashed out against his teammate. Moving swiftly, he closed the gap between them and tackled Falco. Falco squawked in surprise when the two hit the floor. Fox on top of Falco and grabbing the bird's flight jacket.

“You could have hurt the team! You could have hurt yourself!” Fox shouted directly into Falco's face. Though he failed to admit it, Fox had an anger issue. He became impulsive and irrational whenever he got mad. He also got angry very easily.

Falco growled and grabbed Fox's wrists. “Yeah, well last I checked, everyone, including me, is still alive” Falco said.

“I might be a bad leader, but I'm sure as hell the better than you.” Fox replied.

“Yeah yeah, but it if the team followed me instead, I would have led them to a victory.”

“You know damn well it doesn't work that way. You still could have—”

Fox froze, realizing he didn't have any more points to argue. He had already reiterated them once. “You…you still could—“ he stammered clutching Falco's flight jacket closer and gritting his teeth harder.

“Could've what McCloud!” Falco interrupted sardonically. “That’s all you've been saying! Could’ve this! Could've that! The thing is…” He paused briefly to take a breath. “NONE OF THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED!” The avian squawked. 

Fox hissed with sudden rage and slammed his hand into the side of Falco's head. 

Falco recoiled and responded by throwing the vulpine off of him. He grabbed Fox by the arms to hold him there, then shifted his legs onto his chest and shoved. Fox flew quite far before hitting the ground landing flat on his back. Falco got up standing with his hand rubbing his cheek. 

“The fuck McCloud!” He yelled.

Fox shifted onto his front. The breath was knocked out of him and he was recovering. Panting heavily, his planted a fist into the ground and hefted himself into his knees.

“YOU STILL GOT HIT ONCE! STOP ACTING LIKE YOU’RE INVINCIBLE!” 

Both Fox and Falco cringed at the statement. Even though Fox said it, he shouldn't have. It was at this moment, that Fox realized he had severely fucked up. 

“How…did you…know…that?” Falco said acidly.

Fox's face only showed fear. He had made a mistake during the mission. In the moment, Falco's behavior had made him angry, so he had wanted to teach him a lesson. However, he only realized it was a terrible decision after the damage was done.

Falco was now storming towards the canine. Fox wanted to run, but his legs froze. Next thing he knew, he was in the air. Falco roughly hoisted the vulpine up by his flight jacket and slammed him into the side of his ship. Ironically, it was the side that Fox had hit and his head was positioned right where the scorch mark was.

Fox was pinned helplessly against the ship, his paws gripping Falco's wings that were suspending him. He tried to turn his head away, but Falco slammed him into the ship. “Look at me!” He ordered. Fox whimpered, his ears flattened and he timidly looked back. Dark blue locked with emerald green.

Fox whimpered like a little kit. Leader or not, Falco clearly showed more dominance and Fox was now reduced to writhing under the vice grip of his teammate. Fox's fearful reaction seemed to give Falco the answer he needed, he didn't even need to ask it.

Falco released the vulpine sending him scrambling on the floor. He then punched Fox, hard. Fox yelped loudly and his body fell to the ground. Dazed, he held his jaw and stared back at Falco in disbelief and fear.

“I'm leaving” Falco said, and turned his back to walk away. “I don't care about the team anymore.” He looked back for a moment, “Because you obviously don't either.” And with that, he headed for his Arwing.

The fox picked himself up. Confusion, mixed with hatred, clouded his thoughts. This feeling, with just the right amount of fear and an anger issue, is a very dangerous catalyst. Fox wanted to stop Falco. Tightening a fist, he grasped his other hand around his blaster.

“Stop!” Fox screamed, his voice cracking from the tightness of his throat. “What am I doing?” He said to himself internally. He barely realized what he was going to do until it happened. It was almost like his body's natural reflex took control of the situation.

Falco stopped in his tracks when he heard a small *click*. He glanced backwards and scoffed.

“Do it.” Falco said intrepidly. “You won't” he spat. He turned to fully face his partner. His wings limp at his sides as he looked directly at the barrel of the blaster now pointed at him with the safety off. 

Fox’s hand was already trembling. His breaths hyperventilating as his adrenaline impulse receded. He didn't want it to come this far. Yet now, he had made his move, and was pointing a gun at his best friend. This time, Falco looked extremely calm, almost serious. Fox didn't see any signs of emotion in the bird. “How is he not scared?” Fox thought; it was making him scared.

“Do it!” Falco ordered and started striding back to face Fox. “What are ya?! Scared?!” He stopped a foot away from the blaster pointing at his chest.  
Fox cringed at Falco’s use of a very well known quote. He closed his eyes and turned his head away, his finger was now hovering over the trigger. *Am I really doing this?*. Falco was taunting him, calling him a coward. He didn't want to shoot him, but he didn't want his pride to be broken. He was supposed to be the leader, he was supposed to be in control. Even though he was holding the gun, it didn't give him any confidence.  
Fox cursed himself for his stupidity in the current situation. He played the scenario over and over in his head thinking about how this could have happened differently, and better. But it didn't matter. He was here now, and what happened here would change everything. 

“You already did it once, you can do it again.” Falco's voice had changed to a monotone, and he now sounded as serious as he looked.

Tears started falling down Fox’s face and his composure shattered. *I DIDN’T MEAN TO* his mind screamed. *If you had just listened* he thought dejectedly. 

He lowered his blaster to his side, then dropped it on the floor. It clattered against the ground, the sudden noise breaking the tension. *I can’t…not this time*

“Why am I so pathetic” he thought, falling on his knees.

“You're pathetic” Falco scoffed quietly, as if reading the vulpine’s mind. “Can't even pull a fucking trigger.” The fox looked down to the ground, tears flowing freely down his face once again and splashing on the floor. 

“I'm sorry” he managed to whisper between sobs. It was the only thing he could say as his crying increased.

“I know you are…” Falco replied. He strode back over to his kneeling captain and kneeled in from of him as well. His left wing lifted up Fox’s head to look at his face. Fox could see that Falco still had his serious face but there was a look in his eyes that was unreadable. Falco placed his left wing on Fox’s shoulder. Fox forwarded the gesture and set his arms around Falco's torso hugging him tightly.

For a few moments, everything seemed like it would work out. Fox felt relieved as he buried his fuzzy wet face into Falco's right shoulder. He tightened his hold around the avian. Said avian didn’t seem to notice the now restricting pressure being inflicted on him. In fact, he wasn't hugging back.  
Fox didn't know how long he stayed like this. He had stopped crying but still held Falco in a bearlike hug. Yet, he felt Falco shift his left arm and mutter something under his breath. 

“You're so naive it’s almost adorable.” It sounded sarcastic and frustrated. 

Fox wasn't sure how to respond to that, but he didn't get a chance to. He felt Falco bring his left wing to start rubbing the base of his tail. His ears and tail perked, his breath hitched, and a new feeling washed over him. It felt good, but he didn't know what it was. He shuddered and loosened his grip. Falco took the opportunity to free himself in the disoriented vulpine's arms. His right arm reached down to grab something on the floor.

“I'm not sorry” Falco said. The dazed fox was still trying to process what happened earlier, but then it hit him.

Literally.

The vulpine's upper body recoiled as a sudden force struck his torso. Fox gasped in shock, his muzzle agape. Pain erupted in the canine’s chest emanating from the area where his heart was located. His eyes were widened and Falco backed out of the hug. He stared into his still unreadable face. Blood now flowed from a new wound that had appeared on his chest. 

“T-traitor”

“That was for my ship you bastard” Falco said softly, anger seething in his voice. 

Fox was beginning to feel light headed. His body slumped but Falco’s left arm was keeping him from falling. His breaths were labored, his vision blurry, and tears once again dripped from his face.  
Using his left arm, Falco threw the lightweight vulpine onto the ground. Fox hit the floor with a weak grunt. As he lay there sprawled on his back, he saw Falco drop his blaster back onto the floor. The sound of it seemed to echo in Fox’s mind.  
Falco took one last look at his wounded captain with a grim look on his face before climbing into his Arwing.  
Fox could hardly comprehend what happened around him. His senses slurred as his body started to shut down. “That was my blaster”, was the best his brain could process while blood continued to drain from his body forming a pool around him. His eyelids were heavy, so he closed them. His breathing became slower and he felt himself slip into the empty state of unconsciousness.

At least now, he couldn't feel any pain.

**Author's Note:**

> I really need to improve this writing, if you have suggestions be sure to tell me.


End file.
